When Rod payed Tel Aviv last week he was joined on stage for a great version of Sailing by Israeli singer Rita, We have had many requests at SMILER asking who Rita was and for more information. so here goes..
Rita began her career in 1980 as part of a musical troupe in the Israel Defense Forces, But her first big break in Israel came at the 1986 Pre-Eurovision Song Contest, which decided who would represent Israel in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. Rita did not win, but her song, Shvil haBrichah generated a lot of interest. The same year, Rita released her self-titled debut album, Rita, which went triple platinum, selling over 120,000 copies. In 1987, she released the English language album Breaking Those Walls under the name of Rita Farouz. That album contained several English versions of her Hebrew songs from the first album as well as original material. the album went gold (20,000 copies) in Israel.
In 1990, Rita did get to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with Shara Barkhovot (Singing in the Streets), In 2011, she became popular in Iran after the release of various pop records which she sings in her native Persian language. In 2012, her album “My Joys” also sung in Persian, was popular in Israel and Iran, going gold in Israel after three weeks, it was declared a “world music masterpiece”, She has since been referred to as a cultural ambassador between Israeli and Iranian citizens, and states she hopes to “puncture the wall of tension” between their countries.
To date Rita has a very impressive 5 Gold albums, 2 5 x Gold albums, 1 Platinum album, 2 2x Platinum albums and 2 4x Platinum albums.
About her collaboration with Rod, Rita spoke to SMILER and said: I was truly elated to share a stage with a musical legend, to whom I have listened to, throughout my life. A true gentleman, Rod (and his team) made me feel at home, both onstage and backstage, as he was so friendly, welcoming and embracing. I had the pleasure to accompany Rod at his concert in Tel Aviv and sing a duet with him. It felt as if we were sailing together across the sky, soaring to new and exciting peaks.
For more information on Rita go to https://www.rita.co.il/en/home/a/main/
Top Photo Thanks to Roni Arditti
Bottom Photo By Lior Keter
See more photographs by Lior in the 2018 SMILER Calendar on sale later in the year.